Photo: Krd · CC BY-SA 4.0 · credits
Tier 3 · vertical & regionalfull biography
Macka B
Person · male · United Kingdom · Wolverhampton · born 1966 · recording since 1986
British reggae artist
official homepageofficial homepagestreamingstreamingstreamingsocialsocialsocialticketsticketsdatabasedatabasedatabase
Listen on SpotifyYouTube Music
Also known as Christopher Antony McFarlane · Christopher MacFarlane · Christopher McFarlane · Macka B. · Mecka B
Timeline
21 events▣ Album 19◦ Birth 1★ Debut release 1
1960s
1980s
· Debut release
Debut release: Sign of the Times
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Biography
English biography665 words · 3 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1378060093
Biography
Christopher MacFarlane, better known as Macka B, (born 1966) is a British-born Jamaican reggae artist, performer and activist with a career spanning thirty years and one of Britain's most influential dancehall DJs.
As a practicing Rastaman, Macka B's music is based around the political and spiritual message of the religion, with an often light and humorous touch. Working with the Mad Professor, he combined dancehall and dub styles of reggae, although he has avoided a more commercial crossover approach. He takes his name from the Judean rebels against the Greeks, the Maccabees.
Life
Born in Wolverhampton to Jamaican parents, as a child Macka B was influenced by the reggae of the Lord Barley sound-system playing at a blues party next to his parents' house; he also played violin and sang in the choir at school. He went on to take a technical apprenticeship at the Ever Ready factory. When the factory closed and he was laid off, he began to devote more time to practising his toasting skills, influenced by earlier Jamaican toasters U-Roy, I-Roy, Big Youth, and especially Prince Far I.
Soon Macka B formed the Exodus sound system with friends and became a Rastafarian. His 1982 trip to Jamaica galvanised his commitment to toasting and the following year he won a DJing competition. After this Macka B began to feature on the radio as well as perform with local band Pre-Wax, who had a hit with "Maggie's Letter". He became a regular performer on Birmingham's Jah Wasifa sound system. He had a weekly slot on the television programme Ebony in 1984. He approached Neil "The Mad Professor" Frasier with a view to recording and after submitting a tape of his work, the producer agreed to produce his first album, beginning a long association. Around the same time, a tape of his performance in a sound-system battle between the Jah Wasifa sound system and Saxon Studio International ended up with Fashion Records in London. The record label gave Macka B the opportunity to record his first solo single, "Bible Reader", which was released in 1985, the first of three singles for the label.
Macka B's first album, Sign of the Times
Sign of the TimesSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracksA1Wet Look CrazyA2Baked Beans & EggA3InvasionB1Serve You RightB2DreadlocksB3Baby I Love YouB4Plastic Bullets, was released in 1986 on Mad Professor's Ariwa label. The album was well received and reached the top of the UK reggae album charts. Further television exposure followed on the ITV programme Club Mix. His next few albums were similarly acclaimed: We've Had Enough (1987), Looks Are Deceiving
Looks Are DeceivingSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1Looks Are Deceiving6:292Badder Than Jah6:563Proud to Be Black6:464Unemployment Blues3:275What's He Done?6:096Joker6:277Drink Too Much6:158Roots & Culture3:15 (1988). In 1988 Macka B visited Jamaica, where he worked with producer Black Scorpio on the tracks "Love It in Jamaica" and "Slow Down Driver".
Buppie Culture in 1989 produced the hit "Dread a Who She Love", a duet with female singer Kofi. Likewise, "Proud of Mandela" from Natural Suntan (1990) produced another reggae singles chart topper. In 1990 he appeared at the 'Solidarity' concert in Poland, along with the Twinkle Brothers.
Macka B won British Best Male DJ awards in 1991 and 1992. His 1993 record, Roots Ragga was a live album. Here Comes Trouble (1994) produced the international hit "Squeeze Me". "Road Rage" from the Suspicious album was popular on Australian youth radio station Triple J in 1998/9. He again worked with Mad Professor on Discrimination (1995). Roots & Culture (1999) mixed Macka B's hits with previously unreleased material. In 2004 he signed to the Jet Star label (Charm) label.
He also became the first Reggae artist to tour the former Yugoslavia (Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia). In 2012, he appeared as a special guest star on the track Jadna ja (Poor me) by the Serbian folk-world music-rock band Zlatopis.
He has toured and performed around the world since the 1980s alone and with other reggae stars such as Burning Spear, U-Roy, The Wailers, Lee Perry and many others.
Personal life
Macka B follows the Rastafari ital diet, and is vegan. In 2012 he became a patron of The Vegan Society. He runs a YouTube channel where he regularly posts short toasts about the benefits of healthy eating.
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 8 | 49.7th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 41 | 92.9th |
| Studio albums | 23 | 97.2th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 21 | 94.3th |
| Recording span (years) | 40 | 80.2th |
| Genres | 5 | 88.3th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (41 release groups · 23 studio albums)
Albums · 23
1986 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 7 tracks
A1Wet Look CrazyA2Baked Beans & EggA3InvasionB1Serve You RightB2DreadlocksB3Baby I Love YouB4Plastic Bullets1988 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 6 tracks · 39:30
A1Indian Chick5:07A2One for Jah7:31A3Big Mack5:19B1We've Had Enough!8:05B2False Preacher3:48B3Apartheid9:401988 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 8 tracks · 45:44
1Looks Are Deceiving6:292Badder Than Jah6:563Proud to Be Black6:464Unemployment Blues3:275What's He Done?6:096Joker6:277Drink Too Much6:158Roots & Culture3:151989 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 9 tracks · 46:15
A1Buppie Culture5:18A2Dread a Who She Love3:41A3Food Scandal4:17A4Respect Our Mothers3:29A5Coconut5:11B1We Love the Children6:02B2Hole in the Atmosphere7:34B3Human Rights3:13B4Who Are the Terrorists?7:301990 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 8 tracks · 37:51
1Get Rid of Maggie4:282Proud of Mandela6:393Don't Beat Her4:484Don't Judge Me4:005Natural Suntan3:586Get Conscious6:177Blackman3:368Flush It4:051991 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 42:13
1Revelation Time3:442Peace Cup3:493Run Gone Man3:384Pinocchio3:405Roots Ragga3:396Pam Pam Cameron3:597D.J. Unity4:008Gone Home7:559Freeze3:5110Slow Down Driver3:581992 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 9 tracks · 47:52
1Bass5:402Where Is the Love3:333Something Nuh Right8:104(Racists) Back Off7:095Jamaica, No Problem3:556One Man, One Vote4:287Dem Get Me Mad7:228Go Through With It4:079Sex Machine3:281992 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 9 tracks · 47:51
1Bass5:402Where Is the Love3:333Something Nuh Right8:094(Racists) Back Off7:095Jamaica, No Problem3:556One Man, One Vote4:287Dem Get Me Mad7:228Go Through With It4:079Sex Machine3:281994 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 15 tracks · 59:26
1Kiss Out Me Black3:462Kill You With Tax3:383Another Soldier4:004We Love Reggae4:305Discrimination3:566Support Them3:587To Be Racist4:278Give Me a Call3:589Hands Off3:2710Give Birth Again4:0011Taxing Dub3:3512Racist Dub4:2913Give Me a Dub3:4814Food3:4915Big Toe4:051994 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 12 tracks · 52:35
1Thank You Father8:072Squeeze Me3:543Reggae on the Rampage3:504Crackpot3:595Rottweiler3:146Promises4:387Here Comes Trouble4:008Do the Butterfly4:069Getting Blacker4:3110Don't Worry3:3211Promises of Dub4:3812Butterfly Dub4:061995 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 12 tracks · 45:32
1Bob3:592Legalize the Herb3:383Beautiful Eyes3:594Greetings3:395Hold On to Your Culture3:376Give the Workers3:367Woman4:068Put Down the Gun3:539Tribute to Garnett Silk3:5710Wailers Dub3:5911Smoking Dub3:3412Cultural Dub3:351997 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 14 tracks · 57:39
1Suspicious3:542Same Old Story4:353Garvey Story4:074Rasta Rise Again4:105Hi Li Hi Li Hi4:346African and Proud3:387Roots Is in Town4:158Guardian Angel4:059Wake Up Call4:1610Family Man3:5611Mad Cow4:0412Road Rage4:0713Same Old Story (Dougie Digital remix)3:5514Suspicious (Dougie Digital remix)4:032000 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 14 tracks · 57:34
1Power of the Mind4:282Conscious Woman4:033So Many Things3:414Effects of Slavery3:485Mother of Civilisation4:296Rasta Postman3:377Do You Feel Irie?3:378J’adore le reggae4:329Dem Kinda Blackman4:4110Christmas Cancelled4:1711The Human Touch4:31124 Minute Vacation4:1513Beaucoup d’amour3:5114Welcome the Grey3:442004 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 18 tracks · 1:10:28
1Word, Sound & Power3:412Mi Noh Bizniz3:283Ganja Ladies4:184Jamaican4:095Good Good People3:476Whe Dem Deh4:137Far Away From Babylon3:378Musical Liberation3:239Children Children4:4510Those Days4:1611Stop Fight Rastafari4:2112Step Up4:0713When U Get It3:4814Hail Up4:0815Racism3:2816Giving Praise3:4217Rastaman3:4118Deep Bass Voice3:362008 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 15 tracks · 1:01:53
1Greetings3:592Satan leave4:073Murderer3:574Empress Divine3:565Wha Me Eat4:256Rasta4:177Homeland Africa4:068Walk Tall4:449Oh Jamaica3:0710Original4:0711Black Christ4:5412War Pon Drugs3:3013More Knowledge4:0614Save the Children4:3015Would You Like It4:082012 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 16 tracks · 1:05:15
1Change the World4:282Nuclear Energy4:053Medical Marijuana3:314Never Played a 453:395Make a Claim3:436Reggae Daddy5:037Golden Pen3:488Jah Will Provide4:399Cant Sleep4:4510Postcode War4:1711You Could Be Wrong4:1412I Return3:1513Enemies3:2514Good Woman3:2215Bless U Mama3:5416Still a Seh Rasta5:072015 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 15 tracks · 48:33
1Hail H.I.M.3:512Big Thief3:143Soundman3:434Never Played a 453:395Too Much Chicken3:526Medical Marijuana Card3:317Rasta Tell Dem3:398Fire3:019African3:2310Complaining3:2511Beautiful Naturally2:4012One Life2:3813Iternal Love2:5814Another One Gone2:2115Their God2:382017 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 16 tracks · 1:01:49
1Health Is Wealth4:072Gangster4:483Wha Me Eat (remix)4:284Natural Herb3:325Legendary Reggae Icons3:16670’s Legendary Reggae Icons3:587Cucumba2:288Speaker Pon Fire4:119Jah Jah Children5:0010Our Story3:5611Lyrical Chef3:5012Excess Baggage3:2213Nah Go Back There3:3714See Them From Far3:3515Mama Africa3:4516My King3:562020 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 9 tracks · 37:49
1Curly Wurly8:272Wha Dem a Do?3:463Vibes3:424Mama Africa Calling3:225Warrior Style3:536Warrior Dub3:577Fighting Yourself3:338Dub It Like Tubbys3:339Dub of Dub3:362020 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 7 tracks · 27:15
1Gentrification3:322Cucumba to Di World4:283Face to Face3:334Up Ye Mighty Race3:335Call on Jah3:216Never Played A 45 (DJ Jeph Remix)4:207Never Played A 45 (The Hempolics Remix)4:28— · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 7 tracks · 38:24
1Wet Look Crazy5:252Baked Beans & Egg4:143Invasion6:384Serve You Right7:235Dreadlocks4:216Baby I Love You3:227Plastic Bullets7:01— · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 16 tracks · 1:01:49
1Health Is Wealth4:072Gangster4:483"Wha Me Eat" (remix)4:284Natural Herb3:325Legendary Reggae Icons3:16670’s Legendary Reggae Icons3:587Cucumba2:288Speaker Pon Fire4:119Jah Jah Children5:0010Our Story3:5611Lyrical Chef3:5012Excess Baggage3:2213Nah Go Back There3:3714See Dem From Far3:3515Mama Africa3:4516My King3:56— · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 12 tracks · 46:54
1Kiss Out Me Black3:402Kill You With Tax3:313Another Soldier3:594We Love Reggae4:275Discrimination3:526Support Them3:577To Be Racist4:218Give Me A Call3:589Hands Off3:2110Give Birth Again3:5411Taxing Dub3:3112Racist Dub4:23
Single · 11
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | I Don't Like Reggae, I Love ItSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 4 tracks · 18:531I Don't Like Reggae4:19 2I Don't Like Reggae (dub)6:43 3Land of Ancient Kings3:55 4Land of Ancient Kings (dub)3:56 | 1991 | ||
| 2008 | Tired Of The WarSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracksATired of the War AATired of the War (version) | 2008 | ||
| 2008 | Warrior Style (Kunta Kinte)Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracksAWarrior Style (Kunta Kinte) BWarrior Dub | February 2008 | ||
| 2009 | Ariwa SoundSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracksAAriwa Sound BLeap Frog Dub | 2009 | ||
| 2009 | GanjaSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracksAGanja BInstrumental Version | March 2009 | ||
| 2012 | Never LeaveSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracksANever Leave BNever Dub | May 2012 | ||
| 2017 | You Can Count on ISearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 1 track · 3:341You Can Count on I3:34 | 17 March 2017 | ||
| 2025 | We Nah DoneSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 1 track · 3:581We Nah Done3:58 | 3 October 2025 | ||
| 2026 | Plant Farmer PlantSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks · 6:271Plant Farmer Plant (Stingray mix)3:15 2Plant Farmer Plant (Scaraman mix)3:12 | 15 May 2026 | ||
| 2026 | Di Real RockSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 1 track · 3:151Di Real Rock3:15 | 22 May 2026 | ||
| 2026 | MemoriesSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 1 track · 3:151Memories3:15 | 23 July 2026 |
Album · 4
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Roots RaggaSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 14 tracks · 56:041Roots Ragga4:16 2Sex Machine3:41 3Don’t Drink Too Much4:36 4Revelation Time3:33 5Big Mack2:49 6Devil Dance3:50 7Rodney King Medley3:16 8One Man One Vote5:20 9Unemployment Blues2:55 10Proud to Be Black4:48 11(Racists) Back Off3:15 12Buppie4:17 13Respect to Our Mothers4:09 14Apartheid5:19 | Live | 2 November 1992 | |
| 1999 | Roots & CultureSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 18 tracks · 1:09:211Allez the Reggae Boys3:53 2Roots and Culture3:16 3Serve You Right4:43 4Badder Than Jah3:23 5I Don't Like Reggae4:16 6One for Jah4:09 7You're the Ladies4:27 8Run Rushdie Run3:59 9Dread Ah Who She Love3:44 10Get Conscious3:42 11Sex Machine3:11 12Malcom X3:36 13Jesus Christ Is Black3:22 14Iron Mike3:39 15Don't Judge Me4:11 16Another Soldier3:59 17Pam Pam Cameroun3:58 18Squeeze Me3:53 | Compilation | 1999 | |
| 2002 | Live Again! Roots Ragga 2Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 14 tracks · 1:03:561Legalise the Herb5:56 2The Roots Is in Town4:10 3The Reggae Boys5:18 4Dem Kind of Black Man5:06 5The Power of the Mind6:02 6Serves You Right4:06 7Who Are the Terrorists?7:28 8Bass4:31 9Rasta Postman3:46 10Blackman3:51 11We Don't Like Reggae1:06 12Get Conscious4:04 13Pam Pam Cameroon4:01 14Do You Feel Irie?4:31 | Live | 2002 | |
| 2013 | I Don't Like Reggae: The Best of Macka BSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 21 tracks · 1:37:051I Don't Like Reggae4:16 2Legalize the Herb3:36 3Bob3:55 4Squeeze Me3:54 5So Many Things3:41 6Allez the Reggae Boys3:53 7One for Jah4:09 8Invasion6:38 9Baked Beans & Egg4:14 10We Love the Children6:03 11Malcom X 12Wet Look Crazy5:25 13Drink Too Much6:15 14Dreadlocks4:21 15Dread Ah Who She Love3:45 16Beautiful Eyes3:56 17Looks Are Deceiving6:29 18Serve You Right7:23 19Plastic Bullets7:01 20Roots Ragga3:39 21J'adore Le Reggae4:32 | Compilation | 11 June 2013 |
EP · 3
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Rise Up / Most Highs Love / Want to Go HomeSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 4 tracksA1Rise Up A2Most Highs Love B1Want to Go Home B2Rise Up (Disciples dub mix) | 2009 | ||
| 2012 | Rasta SoldierSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 6 tracks · 31:151Rasta Soldier5:44 2Innocent Life5:53 3Old Fashioned7:03 4Never Leave My Culture3:31 5Outta Order4:06 6Our Music4:58 | September 2012 | ||
| 2015 | Are You Ready / Jah Jah's HouseSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 4 tracksAAre You Ready AAre You Ready (version) AAJah Jah's House AAJah Jah's House (version) | 2015 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Macka B head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 8 | 49.7th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 41 | 92.9th |
| Studio albums | 23 | 97.2th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 21 | 94.3th |
| Recording span (years) | 40 | 80.2th |
| Genres | 5 | 88.3th |
Awards & honours
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ruhr_Reggae_Summer_2017_MH_Macka_B_06.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/27dd8224-d752-40e5-9af8-47fd33e61d86discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/27dd8224-d752-40e5-9af8-47fd33e61d86core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q940516genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q940516seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macka_Bbiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macka_B
Why this artist is in the database
- List of reggae musicians
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: Krd · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q940516 · MusicBrainz: 27dd8224-d752-40e5-9af8-47fd33e61d86
Similar artists
Browse every Tier 3 artist →Ranked from this record's own data: shared genre tags (rarer tags weigh more), era, home country and comparable fame. Every card lists the signals that placed it — no editorial picks.
Tenor Saw
Jamaica · Person
ragga · dancehall · reggae
3 shared genre tags · debut 1985, 1 year apart
8 wikis
Dr. Alban
Nigeria · Person
ragga · dancehall · reggae
3 shared genre tags · debut 1990
42 wikis
Massilia Sound System
France · Group
ragga · dancehall · reggae
3 shared genre tags · debut 1992
16 wikis
Tonton David
France · Person
ragga · dancehall · reggae
3 shared genre tags
7 wikis
Princess Erika
France · Person
ragga · reggae
2 shared genre tags · debut 1988, 2 years apart
8 wikis
Lord Kossity
France · Person
ragga · dancehall
2 shared genre tags
6 wikis
General Levy
United Kingdom · Person
ragga
1 shared genre tag · debut 1991 · from United Kingdom
8 wikis
Apache Indian
United Kingdom · Person
ragga
1 shared genre tag · debut 1992 · from United Kingdom
10 wikis